'Ghayal Once Again' - Movie Review

'Ghayal Once Again' - Movie Review

'Ghayal Once Again'
U/A; Action-drama
Director: Sunny Deol
Cast: Sunny Deol, Soha Ali Khan, Om Puri, Shivam Patil, Aanchal Munjal, Rishabh Arora, Diana Khan, Narendra Jha
Rating:

'Ghayal Once Again' poster. Pic/Santa Banta

25 years later, 'Ghayal Once Again' attempts to continue the story from Sunny Deol's big hit 'Ghayal'. The intense and passionate 'Ghayal' had won many awards, which include the National Award for Sunny. It would be safe to say 'Ghayal Once Again' is a worthy sequel.

Thankfully, Sunny or the film is not stuck in the time warp and the sequel is quite contemporary and written to suit today's times. The only things that stay intact are Sunny's 'dhai kilo ka haath' that still throws multiple punches to make goons fly in air and his fight for injustice.

A far cry from the hot-blooded Ajay Mehra of the original, today he is a tormented older man. His mental state is fragile as his past keeps tormenting him and he is in need of medication, provided by his doctor Riya (Soha Ali Khan) to keep himself sane. Among the few characters retained from the original are ACP Joe D'Souza (Om Puri). D'Souza is retired and now is an RTI activist.

This time again, Ajay is out on a trip to avenge a loved one, murdered brutally by the wayward son of an extremely influential businessman, Raj Bansal (Narendra Jha). But Ajay's primary concern is protecting four youngsters (Shivam Patil, Aanchal Munjal, Rishabh Arora and Diana Khan) who have stumbled upon an evidence of the murder and Bansal is baying for their blood.

Even though the movie begins rather sluggishly, it soon picks up speed and soon enough you are at the edge of the seat, with your heart beating harder. A long sequence which involves the four kids being chased by foreign mercenaries hired by Bansal is very well executed and doesn't let your attention waver for even a second.

A sure treat for action junkies as captivating, edge-of-the-seat action scenes (action co-ordinator Dan Bradley) are cleverly designed to fit into various real locations of Mumbai. The one inside a local train is gasp worthy.

Sunny Deol, as a director, does a better than decent job. He manages to keep the plot believable and keep you involved in the goings on. His triumph is also in choosing the right cast and behind-the-scenes people. Good performances (especially by the four youngsters), crisp editing (Chandan Arora), clever screenplay (which goes a bit over the board in the climax, though) and dialogues tailored well to fit the screenplay works towards making this a good watch. Sunny Deol, as the actor, is obviously no patch on the younger version but then again the story of this film cleverly doesn't portray him to be.

Only wish the climax was not so long-winded. Watch this one, even if you are not a Sunny Deol fan. The action sequences are worth your ticket money.